Clogged Gutters be gone!!

It's that time of the year again when gutters need to be cleaned prior to rainy season. We just had a great product installed in portions of our gutters which prevents gutters from clogging.

There is an incredibly large, messy redwood tree which litters needles and branches several times a year. It's just a matter of time before the gutters & downspouts end up getting clogged with tree debris, problematic when our rainy season starts.

RainFlow will help to keep our gutters & downspouts clear, since the debris sits on top of the membrane which can then be blown off when we have our semi-annual gutter cleaning. Another plus, is that since the gutters are easier to clean, our twice a year service will now be less expensive!

Let me know if you'd like a recommendation to the installer & gutter cleaner that I work with. He did an excellent job, is reasonably priced & made a great recommendation to use this product in portions of our high debris gutter areas!

In this photo the RainFlow product starts to the right and you can see it's already working!

The Paperless Real Estate Transaction

In my constant quest to be eco-friendly both personally and professionally, I've been implementing a few environmentally friendly business practices.

Currently, I’m in the process of reducing the number of direct marketing pieces to a quarterly schedule, instead staying in touch monthly with friends and clients via electronic newsletters.

I've also successfully been working with electronic systems for about 2 years, creating a paperless transaction for clients who are buying or selling real estate. The response has been overwhelmingly positive from clients who appreciate being able to review documents online as well as securely sign the dozens of disclosures and reports electronically.

Gone are the days of having to kill a forest to buy or sell a home. It is technology which hopefully more of the real estate industry will embrace, especially considering that a typical transaction consumes 250-300 sheets of paper and can top 600 sheets with condo transactions. Additionally, the quality of electronic files is far superior to hard copies which lose print detail with each printing and faxing.

Clients, at their leisure, can go online to review & sign reports and disclosures. With their busy schedules of juggling work & family, they appreciate the convenience & efficiency of an electronic system. Clients also receive all their transaction paperwork on a CD rather than a hard copy; a format which is more convenient to store then a two to three inch paper file as well as it being easier to locate specific documents on disk. Clients also appreciate being able to contribute to being eco-friendly.

Title companies and lenders are also slowly moving towards the paperless transaction.

At the conclusion of a transaction, I also purchase carbon credits to further offset my carbon footprint.

If you’d like to learn more about paperless transactions, give me a call!

Image: FreeDigitalPhotos.net